


With Just A Touch (I'll Heal You)

by DobbyRocksSocks



Series: WinterIron [13]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Because JARVIS deserves life!, Canon Typical Violence, Even tho Wanda and Bucky are here, Fluff, M/M, Pepper Potts Is a Good Bro, Proximity with your soulmate heals you, Set in a time where JARVIS lives, Tony gets kidnapped. Why is it always Tony?, Wanda is not good in this fic., soulmate!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 09:45:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18444011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DobbyRocksSocks/pseuds/DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: Tony gets kidnapped... again. Shocker, right? When Bucky gets thrown into the same cell, neither of them could have predicted what came next.





	With Just A Touch (I'll Heal You)

 

Waking up in a cell was sadly nothing new for Tony. Waking up in pain in a cell was also unfortunately familiar. 

Since Iron Man, he’d been kidnapped less, true, but the muscle memory never truly went away. 

The cell was bare, except for the threadbare mattress Tony had been laid on. Not even a blanket or pillow, the heathens. There were no windows, and the door looked solidly built. 

Tony looked around the walls and ceiling carefully, searching for any hint of a camera, only to find nothing. 

That was frustrating. 

A clatter outside the cell sounded, and Tony pushed himself into a sitting position, ignoring the painful protests his aching limbs sent out. The door swung open, and a man Tony didn’t recognise entered. 

He had a smug smile on his face as he regarded Tony. Tony bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from talking. He had to find out why they were holding him before anything else. 

“Beat him.” 

Tony blinked, but before he could move, or even try and defend himself, three other men were storming through the door.  

The punches certainly were not pulled, and each blow met it’s intended mark. Tony tried to protect his head as best he could, but he was already weak from whatever they’d done to him when they’d captured him. 

When they finally pulled back, Tony was praying for the darkness of unconsciousness to claim him. 

“I will teach you the meaning of pain, Tony Stark,” the first man who’d entered said. “But first, say hello, won’t you?” 

Tony forced his eyes open and saw that the man had set up a camera on a tripod. He didn’t speak, just closed his eyes again as he fought the nausea the pain of the beating brought. 

“The Avengers will walk right into my trap to save you,” the man said. “And there’s nothing you can do about it.” 

Tony groaned. “You think,” he gasped, “that they’ll come and save me, but you’re wrong. I’m not an Avenger anymore, haven’t been for months.” 

The man scoffed. “They will still come for you.” 

“You picked the wrong man to inspire a rescue mission, pal,” Tony said, his breath coming in short, sharp, gasps.

“We will see how they react when we send them the video of you bruised, black and blue, with the promise of more beatings should they choose not to save you.” 

“Uh huh,” Tony murmured. “That sounds like great fun for all involved, I can’t wait.” 

The man approached and kicked Tony in the stomach one final time. “Death will not be swift for you, Mr Stark.” 

… 

Three days, Tony estimated. He’d been beaten for a second time, but left alone since, which was probably a good move on his kidnappers part. Tony was pretty sure another beating would finish him off. 

The door banged open, and there was an ‘oof’ before it shut again. 

Tony forced himself to roll over, wincing at the pain, to see what, or who, had come into the cell. It took him a moment to recognise the hunched figure. The long hair covered his face, but there was no denying the owner of that particular metal arm. 

“Barnes?” 

Barnes looked up, eyes wide as he took in the mess that was formally Tony Stark. 

“Jesus, what did they  _ do  _ to you?” 

“Just a few love taps,” Tony replied. “What the hell are you doing here?” 

“Oh, I erm. They caught me in New York. I was… there was a cat in an alley and, uh…” 

Tony snorted. “They caught you because you’ve got a propensity for strays. Beautiful.” 

“How did they get you?” 

“I was on a work trip,” Tony replied shortly. “And I dropped my guard.” 

He turned back to face the wall. He just wanted to sleep. The pain was real, and it was all over, and he didn’t want to have to deal with that  _ and  _ Barnes. 

“Hey,” Barnes murmured, shifting closer. “You probably shouldn’t go to sleep, you might have a concussion.” 

“I don’t. I’m fine.” 

“Yeah, right. Of course you are.” 

“Cross my heart,” Tony muttered. 

A moment later, Tony felt Barnes’ hand on his back. It was warm, and the warmth seemed to spread through Tony from that one fixed point. He wanted to shake the contact away, but he couldn’t bring himself to. 

Sleep claimed him before he could protest. 

… 

When Tony woke, something was different. He was embarrassed to admit that it took him a long minute to realise that it was the lack of pain. He felt, well, not uninjured, but certainly much better than he had when he went to sleep. 

“What the fuck,” he murmured to himself. 

“Surprised me too.” 

Tony rolled over to see Barnes propped up beside where Tony was lay. “What did?” 

“I touched you, and your wounds started healing. Mine did too, though with the serum, that’s not entirely new so I would have disregarded it. But… unless you’ve got the serum too, or discovered a fast healing thing, I’d say you know what’s happening.” 

“But we’re not…” 

Bucky sighed, and Tony pushed himself into a sitting position. 

“I know this is the last thing you could have wanted,” Bucky said eventually. “And I’m really sorry about that, but… I’d say the way you’re moving is proof that we’re soulmates, Tony.” 

“I thought… I thought I was past the point where I would find my soulmate,” Tony admitted quietly. “It’s just weird… know I’ve found you and… it being you. I, well, honestly, I thought you and Steve were… it would have made sense, you know?” 

“What would have made sense?” 

“The way he replaced me with you,” Tony replied almost silently. “He didn’t even… you can’t tell me he cared that I was planning to retire. He had wanda and you so… he just waved me off like it didn’t matter. And that’s… it’s fine, you know, because we never really got on so why should he care but… I guess I told myself it was likely the two of you were soulmates because then it didn’t hurt so much to know that I could be replaced so easily.” 

Bucky stared at him. “There are so many things wrong with what you just said that I don’t even know where to start.” 

Tony rolled his eyes and looked away. 

“Just… we need to get you healed a bit more, and then we’ll get out of here. The rest… we can deal with the rest later,” Bucky said. 

Without warning, he wrapped his arm around Tony’s shoulder and pulled him closer, until Tony was practically pillowed along the side of Bucky’s body. It made sense, the more the proximity, the more healing, but Tony  _ hated  _ how good it felt. 

… 

Escaping was easier than Tony had expected it to be. He was almost disappointed that he didn’t get to blow anything up. The kidnappers had clearly been banking on him being too injured to be any use to Barnes. 

As they left the building, a trail of bodies behind them, a quinjet touched down. Nat, Clint, Steve, Wanda and Sam approached them as soon as the doors opened. 

Now that he was free of the signal dampers, Tony was back in contact with JARVIS and had a suit on route to pick him up. He turned away from the Avengers and instructed JARVIS to call Pepper. 

“Tony? Oh god, Tony are you okay?” she said when she answered and heard his voice. 

“Fine, I’m fine, I promise,” he eased her. “J has a suit on route, I’ll be back at the offices in an hour or so, okay?” 

“Do you need medical?” 

“No.” 

“Tony—”

“Pep, I swear to you, I do not need medical. I’m fine, there’s barely a scratch on me.” 

“Okay, okay, I’m going to let Happy and Rhodey know you’re okay. I’ll see you in about an hour?” 

“I’ll be there, Pep.” 

She ended the call and Tony searched his mind for something important to discuss with JARVIS so the Avengers didn’t attempt to talk to him but—” 

“Tony?” 

He turned to meet Steve’s eyes. “Cap.” 

“You… are you coming back with us?” he asked, nodding to the jet. 

Tony shook his head. “No, J has a suit on route to pick me up. It’ll be here in a few minutes.” 

“You, uh, Buck just told us what you said about… being replaced?” 

“Of course he did.” 

“That’s not how it happened, Tony. I never wanted you to leave the team, none of us did. We’re already down Bruce and Thor and then when you—” 

“You never asked me to stay,” Tony replied flatly. “And you’ve been out on missions that you clearly could have used me for, and you never called and asked me to help. How else am I supposed to take that, Cap?” 

“I did ask you to stay!” 

“No,” Tony replied. “You didn’t. I told you I was thinking about leaving, and you said, and I quote, ‘I hope you enjoy whatever you do next.’ That doesn’t sound like ‘stay, Tony.’ to me.” 

“That’s not—” 

“Wanda,” Bucky said, loud enough to cut Steve off. “Why are you so pale?” 

Everyone turned to look at the witch, and found that she was indeed, looking pale and shaken. 

“I… I just wanted to belong,” she said, her tone quiet, little more than a whisper. “I wanted somewhere to call home, and I knew he wouldn’t want me to stay so… I changed his memories. I made it seem like he wasn’t… wanted. By the team.” 

The suit landed, making Tony jump. He felt sick, violated, and he stumbled over to the suit and encased himself inside as fast as he could. 

“Tony, wait, please,” Steve begged, but Tony couldn’t. He couldn’t be around them, not right now. 

He activated the repulsors and shot off into the sky. 

…

“She fucked with my brain, Pep. Again.” 

Pepper was stoic as Tony filled her in on what had been said after he’d escaped his kidnappers. She rubbed his shoulder and then squeezed gently. 

“Do you want me to legally pursue her, Tony? Because I will. I’ll pull all SI support from the Avengers initiative too. We will ruin them if that is what you want because this… it’s not right.” 

It was tempting, and for a brief moment, Tony thought about telling her to do it, to ruin them for what they’d, for what  _ she’d  _ done to him, but he didn’t. 

Sadly, he even understood Wanda in a strange way. Wanting so much to belong and being afraid someone would take it away… he knew that feeling. He knew that feeling well. 

He shook his head. “No. I just… no. Leave them. It’s… it’ll be fine.” 

“At the very least, they’re going to kick her off the team, right?” 

Tony shrugged. “What will that solve?” 

Pepper rolled her eyes. “Sometimes, I love how forgiving you are, and other times, I wanna hit you upside the head. You’re allowed to be angry about this, Tony!” 

“I know, but…” he shook his head. “I found my soulmate too, by the way.” 

Pepper blinked at him. “You… what?” 

“Uh huh. Barnes. Fate just enjoys fucking with me, I think.” 

There was silence for a long moment, and then Pepper started chuckling. She slumped in her chair and shook her head, looking at him fondly. 

“Tony Stark, what even  _ is  _ your life?” 

Tony snorted. 

… 

Tony watched the rain through the large glass windows. He was supposed to be getting ready for a gala, but the thought of plastering a smile on his face, of schmoozing and charming people he didn’t even like was purely exhausting. 

The elevator dinged, but he didn’t turn around. 

He heard Barnes approaching, and felt when he stopped just behind Tony. A cut from an earlier oops in the lab on Tony’s finger tingled and he looked down just in time to see it heal over. 

“Well, that’s potent,” he muttered. 

Behind him, Barnes chuckled. Tony turned to look at him and then paused when he saw what  Barnes was wearing. 

“Ah, Miss Potts called. Said you might want a date for this shindig you’re hosting?” 

“Pepper is a meddler,” Tony retorted flatly. “But, uh, you look good.” 

“You look tired.” 

“Barnes, you absolute flatterer!” 

“Call me Bucky, huh? We are soulmates. Probably prescribes to a bit of familiarity, no?”  

Tony nodded absently and drained the glass he’d been holding. “I suppose I should finish getting ready then, since Pep brought out the big guns to get me to the Gala.” 

“You weren’t going to go?” 

Tony shrugged. “Hadn’t decided yet.” 

“I mean… I can always shuck the jacket and bowtie, we can catch a movie instead?” Bucky offered, a teasing smile on his face. 

“You have no idea how much that idea appeals,” Tony admitted, before he shook his head, “But Pepper would have me shot.” 

Bucky shrugged. “I’ll be right there to heal you.” 

“Alright smooth talker,” Tony muttered. “Just… hang here, I’ll be back.” 

Bucky nodded, and Tony left the room for his bedroom. He’d be having  _ words  _ with Miss Potts about this. 

…

“You okay?” 

Tony nodded, leaning against the bar. Having Bucky there with him had made it easier, but he was still so done with it. He wanted to just… not be surrounded by so many people. 

“Balcony?” Bucky suggested, nodding to the doors at the side of the ballroom. 

Tony nodded gratefully, and led the way. He knew Bucky was following close behind him, and somehow, he was okay with that. 

The air was cool against Tony’s heated skin and he sighed in relief. 

“It’s nice out here,” Bucky said. “I like New York better at night. I like the lights.” 

Tony nodded. “It’s a nice city to see at night.” 

“I… uh. So, I know that you—” 

“Do you actually know, or are you assuming?” Tony interrupted. “Because you  _ don’t  _ know me, so I’d really appreciate it if you’d ask instead of just thinking that you know what I’m feeling or doing or thinking.” 

“Can I kiss you?” 

Tony blinked. “What?” 

“Can I kiss you?” Bucky repeated, taking a step towards Tony so their chests were only inches apart. “Because it’s all I’ve been thinking about all night.” 

Tony closed the distance between them, and their lips met. Bucky’s lips were soft beneath Tony’s, and they opened almost immediately when Tony licked at the top lip playfully. Bucky’s metal arm snaked around Tony’s waist, and his flesh hand cupped his cheek as they tilted their heads slightly for a better angle. 

When they parted, neither of them made any move to put any distance between them. 

“If you don’t want this, then I’ll understand,” Bucky said softly. “If you can’t… what I did… I’ll understand. And I’ll be there, whenever you need me, to help you heal from anything. But if you do want to… this,” he squeezed his hand lightly on Tony’s hip. “Then… I’m here, and I’m offering whatever you want from me.” 

Tony stared into his eyes for a long moment. “What do  _ you  _ want?” 

“I want… something, someone, that looks at me and  _ sees me.  _ That’s what I want.” 

Tony nodded. “Okay. Come on, Snowflake, I’m done with the evening. Let’s… go and shuck the jackets and bowties, and catch a movie.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

Bucky smiled wide and nodded. “That sounds perfect.” 

 


End file.
